Blueprint Table ELA/Literacy Grades 3 - 8 and HS

Oct 3, 2026

Blueprint table for ELA/literacy assessment in grades 3–8 and high school, detailing how claim/score reporting categories align with content categories, stimuli, assessment targets, depth-of-knowledge ranges, and item counts. It specifies Reading, Writing, Speaking/Listening, and Research structures, separating computer adaptive test (CAT) item sampling from performance tasks (PT). Includes notes on machine-scored items, hand-scored components, writing traits scoring, and total item weighting.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Claim/Score Reporting Categories

Reading

Writing

Speaking/Listening

Research

Computer Adaptive Test (CAT): Target Sampling

CAT targets by content category and DOK

Performance Task (PT): Target Sampling

PT item types and scoring

| Blueprint Table ELA/Literacy Grades 3 – 8 and HS | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Claim/Score Reporting Category 1 | Content Category 2 | Stimuli | | Items | | Total Items by
Claim3 | | | | CAT | PT4 | CAT Items 5 | PT Items 6 | | | 1. Reading | Literary | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 – 12 | | | Informational | 2 | 0 | 7 – 8 | | | | 2. Writing | Organization/Purpose | 0 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 98 | | | Evidence/Elaboration | 0 | | | 17 | | | | Conventions | 0 | | 3 | 17 | | | 3. Speaking/Listening | Listening | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | 4. Research | Research | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 Each student receives an overall ELA/literacy score and claim scores, or sub-scores reported at the individual level for Reading and Writing. 2 For more information on content categories, claims, and assessment targets, see the Content Specifications: Appendix B document at [https://portal.smarterbalanced.org/library/en/appendix-b-grade-level-tables.pdf](https://portal.smarterbalanced.org/library/en/appendix-b-grade-level-tables.pdf). 3 The total number of items is not necessarily equal to the weighting by claim. 4 Each student receives one PT, which includes a set of stimuli on a given topic. 5 The CAT component of the test includes machine-scored items only. 6 Each PT includes one research item that may be either a machine-scored item or a short-text item. Each PT also has one full write in the writing purpose of Opinion/Argumentative or Informational/Expository that is scored across three traits: Organization/Purpose, Evidence/Elaboration, and Conventions. The short-text item and the full write are designed for hand-scoring. 7 For this table, Writing PTs are noted as three separate “items”; however, the Writing PT score is derived from a single student response scored on three distinct traits. 8 Total Items for Claim 2 includes 6 CAT items and 3 items from the PT as described in footnote 7. | Computer Adaptive Test: Target Sampling ELA/Literacy Grades 3 – 8 and HS | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Component | Claim/Score Reporting Category | Content Category | Assessment Target 1 | DOK 2 , 3 | CAT Items | Total Items | | CAT | 1. Reading | Literary4 | 2: Central Ideas | 2 | 0–1 | 4 | | | | | 4: Reasoning and Evidence | 3, 4 | 1 | | | | | | 1: Key Details | 1, 2 | 2–3 | | | | | | 3: Word Meanings | 1, 2 | | | | | | | 5: Analysis within/across Texts | 3, 4 | | | | | | | 6: Text Structures and Features | 2, 3, 4 | | | | | | | 7: Language Use | 2, 3 | | | | | | Informational 5 | 9: Central Ideas | 2, 3 | 1–2 | 7–8 | | | | | 11: Reasoning and Evidence | 3, 4 | 1–2 | | | | | | 8: Key Details | 1, 2 | 3–6 | | | | | | 10: Word Meanings | 1, 2 | | | | | | | 12: Analysis within/across Texts | 3, 4 | | | | | | | 13: Text Structures and Features | 2, 3, 4 | | | | | | | 14: Language Use | 2, 3 | | | 1 For more information on assessment targets, see the Content Specifications: Appendix B document at [https://portal.smarterbalanced.org/library/en/appendix-b-grade-level-tables.pdf](https://portal.smarterbalanced.org/library/en/appendix-b-grade-level-tables.pdf). 2 DOK: Depth of Knowledge, consistent with the Smarter Balanced Content Specifications: Appendix B. 3 The CAT algorithm will be configured to ensure the following: For Claim 1, a student will receive at least four items at DOK 2 and at least one item at DOK 3 or higher. For Claim 2, a student will receive at least two items at DOK 2. For Claim 3, a student will receive at least two items at DOK 2 or higher. For Claim 4, CAT items are DOK 2 for all grades. 4 In grades 3-5, each student will receive either one long literary passage set or one short literary passage set. In grades 6-8, and HS, each student will receive one long literary passage set. 5 Each student will receive one long informational passage set and one short informational passage set.

FAQs

How are claims and content categories organized for ELA/literacy assessment?

The blueprint maps each claim/score reporting category to a content category and identifies associated stimuli and assessment targets, then reports CAT and PT item counts.

What is the difference between CAT items and PT items in the blueprint?

CAT sections specify machine-scored item sampling by assessment target and DOK. PT sections list machine-scored versus short-text versus full-write components and how writing traits are scored.

How is the writing score derived for the full write and traits?

The blueprint states that a student response is scored across three traits—Organization/Purpose, Evidence/Elaboration, and Conventions—while the writing purpose corresponds to Opinion/Argumentative or Informational/Expository.

Oct 3, 2026

Upload by River Wang